British Parliament: 2018 World Cup to help enhance Russian-UK relations

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the UK’s House of Commons urged the British authorities to use the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia to enhance and repair the wider relationship between the UK and Russia.

"The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) should use this tournament and others to enhance and repair the wider relationship between the UK and Russia, rather than boycott sport in response to other strained aspects of UK-Russia relations," the report said.

According to the document, the FCO should "facilitate co-operation between British police and their Russian counterparts to minimize the possibility that serious trouble occurs again; plan to increase its staff in Russia during the World Cup to meet the likely surge in demand for consular services," TASS reported.

The 2018 World Cup matches will be held at 12 stadiums in 11 cities of Russia from June 14 to July 15: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don.